The Blind

(U.S.; 72 min.) Nathan Silver’s debut has slaved-over visual and audio surfaces, from the classic-era film titles to the soundtrack of ‘50s show tunes. Kate (Josette Barchilon) exists in a fugue state that would do a Stepford Wife proud; she’s the live-in of an emotionally shuttered young architect (Jonas Ball) who does his best to ditch her whenever possible. Keeping all the talk small (“Are these the papers for the orthodontist’s office?”), Silver and co-writer Ben Bostick try to establish a subtly mounting tension. Will all this repression lead to a latter-day Fall River Tragedy? The novice cast isn’t quite up to this heavy load of inflection, despite the satisfying wrap-up. A favorite scene, which best channels the spirit of Jeanne Dielman: Barchilon numbly puttering around the house accompanied on the soundtrack by Sandy Posey’s proto-feminist yet ultimately masochistic tune “Born a Woman.” (RvB)